The 86th annual Old Settlers Picnic is planned Saturday, June 30, which means another queen will be crowned.
Fair Haven’s queen coronation is scheduled a little earlier this year, 6:30 instead of 7 p.m., and it will mark a long-standing tradition for ladies in the area to compete for a chance at being named queen, princess or Miss Congeniality and represent the city at various functions throughout the year. And because the Old Settlers Day tradition is steeped in pride and history for this small, tight-knit community, an idea was sparked a few years ago to make writing a history report about Fair Haven a part of the judging process in the contest, according to Committee Chair Brenda Newman. Brenda’s daughter Kayla Newman has been the Old Settlers Picnic Royalty coordinator for the past seven years.
"It’s more about preserving the history of the community," Kayla said. "A lot of businesses have died out. The (candidate) papers are put into a packet and given to the judges who read the packet before the interviews. It lets them know how much candidates put into it. There are so many landmarks but there really isn’t any preservation because many buildings are gone."
Evolving contest
Newman guides the girls in various activities leading up to coronation.
"I always kind of helped with it but mom has too," Newman said. "It’s been in our family for a long time. I filled in for coordinator when she was sick one time and so I just ended up doing it. It’s a huge part of Fair Haven and I love my community."
Newman also was Fair Haven royalty herself, having been crowned Miss Congeniality in 2005-2006. She is still learning about Fair Haven’s past royal traditions and has collected photos and newspaper articles to chronicle its early days. Janice Bongaarts was chosen as Fair Haven’s first queen in 1964.
"It started in 1964 but they stopped doing queens for a period of time," Newman said. "The first queen is still alive, though as far as I know and 2006 was the last parade she was in for the 80th anniversary (of Old Settler’s Picnic)."
In the past, Newman says there were two ladies crowned, a queen and a princess but the title of Miss Congeniality was added sometime later. Their involvement in representing Fair Haven during the year has been broadened as well, she said.
"It started with a couple parades and now our candidates have four functions before the coronation and then they (the royalty) do about 25 to 30 events during the year even though we only require four," Newman said. "They usually go above and beyond the four required."
Fair Haven’s royalty also does a community project. Examples from the last few years include "princess for a day," which is where they do crafts with little girls and take photos with them. They also have been involved with toys for tots and candidates will again do a basket auction at this year’s picnic. Newman says they each present a basket for auction and the proceeds go toward a charity such as the Tri-County Humane Society in St. Cloud.
"The goal of having royalty is basically to put our community’s name out there," Newman said. "We’re such a small community, so it’s not necessarily the image of it but putting something back into the town. Our town is so small, the Old Settlers Picnic is the biggest event of the year and the royalty contribute a lot to it."
The candidates
This year, five girls are vying for a chance at being named a Fair Haven queen, princess or Miss Congeniality.
They are: Chelsey Maus, sponsored by A.M. Maus & Son and daughter of Ed and Sue Maus; Gracie Lantto, Kimball Parts City and daughter of Sandy and Jerry Kelly; Jenna Maus, Generations Ballroom and daughter of Ed and Sue Maus; Kenzie Traurig, FairHaven Electric Corp. and daughter of Dave and Kelly Traurig; and Kimberly Fennema, D & K Trucking and daughter of Tim and Candie Fennema.
A full day of activities are planned, beginning with the parade which begins lining up at 9 a.m. in the Concordia Lutheran Church parking lot and begins at 10. Games, food and musical entertainment are planned as well as various displays and a kiddie tractor pull. A street dance closes the day’s activities beginning at 8 p.m. until midnight.